PRS SE vs S2 Guitars (Including Custom, Standard, McCarty)

The PRS range consists of 4 different lines:

• SE
• S2
• CE
• Core

In this article I’ll be comparing the SE and S2 lines and the reasons why the S2 models are significantly more expensive than the SE models. I’ll start with an overview of the features and then jump into specific model comparisons e.g. SE vs S2 Custom 24.

Country of Manufacture

PRS SE electric guitars are made in South Korea and Indonesia, whereas PRS S2 guitars are all made in the USA. The PRS S2 line of guitars are made in same factory as the flagship Core line and Custom Shop models, located in Stevensville, Maryland.

This is one of the biggest draws of the S2 line as the USA is highly regarded as the best country for manufacturing high-end guitars in the world.

However, that doesn’t mean that SE guitars aren’t well made, in fact the opposite is true. South Korea has a very solid reputation for producing high-quality guitars with excellent build quality.

Body Shape and Top Wood

On the models which feature a maple top (e.g. Custom 24 and McCarty 594), the quality and appearance is better on the S2 versions compared to the SE versions.

On the SE models you get a fairly basic thinner maple veneer, whereas on the S2 models you get a proper maple cap. The S2 guitars also have a more dramatic “asymmetrical bevel” top carve compared to the shallower and less impressive looking “shallow violin” carve on the SE models.

Construction

Another upgrade found on the S2 guitars is the scarf joint (compared to the multi-ply construction on the SE line). The benefit of the scarf joint is that it’s stronger and less prone to breakage at the headstock.

Other Differences

Some differences between S2 and SE guitar are model-specific, so in the later sections of this article I’ll be comparing individual models directly such as the Custom 24. These differences include:

• Neck wood
• Neck shape and depth
• Headstock logo
• Tuning machines (some S2 models have locking tuners)
• Fretboard inlays
• Pickups (although on many models the pickups are actually the same)
• Cosmetic differences e.g. satin/ gloss, color, pickguard
• Stock string gauge

Guitars Available in Each Range

Here is a full list of electric guitars available in the PRS SE and S2 lines.

Solid Body

Model	PRS SE	PRS S2
Custom 24	Yes	Yes
Custom 24-08	Yes	Yes
Custom 24 Floyd	Yes	No
Standard 24	Yes	Yes
Standard 24-08	Yes	No
Standard 22	No	Yes
Paul’s Guitar	Yes	No
Mira	Yes	No
Vela	No	Yes
Starla Stoptail	Yes	No
McCarty 594	Yes	Yes
McCarty 594 Singlecut	Yes	Yes
McCarty 594 Thinline	No	Yes
277	Yes	No
Silver Sky	Yes	No
Mark Holcomb	Yes	No
Mark Tremonti	Yes	No
Santana	Yes	No
Zach Myers	Yes	No
SGT	Yes	No

Semi-Hollow and Hollow Body

Model	PRS SE	PRS S2
Custom 22 Semi-Hollow	Yes	No
Hollowbody Standard	Yes	No
Hollowbody Standard Piezo	Yes	No
Hollowbody II	Yes	No
Hollowbody II Piezo	Yes	No
Vela Semi-Hollow	No	Yes

Don’t forget to check out these comparisons too:

• PRS SE vs Core
• PRS S2 vs Core

Comparable Models

Rather than going through more generalisations between the two lines, I wanted to go in-depth and compare exact models in the SE and S2 lines.

In this section I’ll directly compare SE and S2 versions of the following shapes:

• Custom 24
• Standard 24
• McCarty 594 (/Singlecut)

PRS SE vs S2 Custom 24

Here is a table highlighting all the differences between the PRS SE and SE Custom 24.

Specification	PRS SE Custom 24	PRS S2 Custom 24
Top	Flame Maple Veneer	Flame Maple Cap
Top Carve	Shallow Violin	Asymmetric Bevel
Neck Wood	Maple	Mahogany
Construction	Multi-Ply	Scarfed
Neck Shape	Wide Thin	Pattern Thin
Neck Depth at Nut	0.78″	0.83″
Headstock Logo	“SE”	Signature
Tuners	PRS Designed	PRS Low Mass Locking
Strings	9-42	10-46
Made In	South Korea	USA
Price	$850	$1900

The main differences between the PRS SE and PRS S2 Custom 24 are that the S2 has a thicker maple top with a more dramatic carve, an upgraded scarfed construction, locking tuners and uses a different neck and wood shape compared to the SE.

The PRS SE Custom 24 has a “wide thin” neck whereas the S2 Custom 24 has a “pattern thin” neck. As you can see from the dimensions below, the “wide thin” on the SE has less depth compared to the “Pattern Thin” on the S2, but both have the same fretboard width.

Check out my guide to the different PRS neck profiles to learn more.

	Wide Thin (SE)	Pattern Thin (S2)
Neck Depth at Nut	0.81″	0.83″
Fretboard Width at Nut	1.69″	1.69″
Fretboard Width at Body	2.25″	2.25″

In terms of the tone, these two guitars are incredibly similar as they both use the same pickups. They also both have a 3-way pickup selector and coil splitting.

Similarities:

• 85/15 “S” pickups
• Mahogany body
• Bird fretboard inlays
• PRS Double-Acting truss rod
• Fretboard width at nut and body
• Rosewood fretboard
• 10″ fingerboard radius
• PRS Tremolo bridge
• Synthetic nut
• 3-way pickup selector
• Pull-pull tone pot for coil splitting
• Set-neck construction
• Gig bag included

PRS SE vs S2 Standard 24

Here is a table highlighting all the differences between the PRS SE and SE Standard 24.

Specification	PRS SE Standard 24	PRS S2 Standard 24
Top Carve	Shallow Violin	Asymmetric Bevel
Neck Wood	Maple	Mahogany
Construction	Multi-Ply	Scarfed
Neck Shape	Wide Thin	Pattern Regular
Neck Depth at Nut	13/16”	27/32”
Fretboard Width at Nut	1 11/16”	1 21/32”
Fretboard Width at Body	2 1/4”	2 1/4”
Fretboard Inlay	Birds	Dots
Headstock Logo	“SE”	Signature
Tuners	PRS Designed	PRS Low Mass Locking
Pickups	85/15 “S”	58/15 LT “S”
Pickup Cover	No	Yes
Strings	9-42	10-46
Pickguard	No	Yes
Finish	Gloss	Gloss or Satin
Made In	South Korea	USA
Price	$650	$1700

The main difference between the S2 and SE Standard 24 guitars is the pickups. The SE uses 85/15 “S” humbuckers whereas the S2 uses 58/15 LT “S” humbuckers. The pickups on the SE are uncovered so sound brighter and they are also hotter compared to the pickups on the S2 which have a more “vintage tone”.

Another difference between these two guitars is the neck shape. The SE’s “Wide Thin” neck is not as deep, but has a wider fretboard at the nut compared to the S2’s “Pattern Regular” neck. Both necks have the same fretboard width at the body.

Check out my guide to the different PRS neck profiles to learn more.

	Wide Thin (SE)	Pattern Regular (S2)
Neck Depth at Nut	0.78″	0.84″
Fretboard Width at Nut	1.69″	1.66″
Fretboard Width at Body	2.25″	2.25″

Similarities:

• Mahogany body
• PRS Double-Acting truss rod
• Rosewood fretboard
• 10″ fingerboard radius
• PRS Tremolo bridge
• Synthetic nut
• 3-way pickup selector
• Pull-pull tone pot for coil splitting
• Set-neck construction
• Gig bag included

PRS SE vs S2 McCarty 594

The specifications are the same for the McCarty 594 and McCarty 594 Singlecut, the only difference being the number of cutaways.

Here is a table highlighting all the differences between the PRS SE and SE McCarty 594.

Specification	PRS SE McCarty 594	PRS S2 McCarty 594
Top	Flame Maple Veneer	Flame Maple Cap
Top Carve	Shallow Violin	Asymmetric Bevel
Construction	Multi-Ply	Scarfed
Headstock Logo	“SE”	Signature
Made In	South Korea	USA
Price	$950	$1950

The main differences between the SE and S2 McCarty 594 models are that the S2 has a thicker maple top with a more dramatic curve, upgraded scarf joint construction and is made in the USA whereas the SE version is made in South Korea.

Both these guitars use the same pickups and neck design so feel and sound very similar to one another.

Similarities:

• 58/15 LT “S” pickups
• Mahogany body and neck
• Bird fretboard inlays
• PRS Double-Acting truss rod
• Pattern vintage neck shape
• Fretboard width at nut and body
• Rosewood fretboard
• 10″ fingerboard radius
• PRS two-piece bridge
• PRS vintage style tuners
• Synthetic nut
• 3-way pickup selector
• Pull-pull tone pot for coil splitting
• Set-neck construction
• 10-46 gauge strings
• Gig bag included

Check out my comparison between PRS SE and Core guitars.